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The Corisian Museum, University and Explorers Society
The Museum is located in the Corisian capital of Highcliffe. Surrounded on all sides by cliffs, it towers above the lower city and is connected to the upper city by a tall bridge, the only access pre-airship. History The site the Museum stands on once held a Grand Abbey. This abbey began in 246BU as a small monastery, a small branch of the Abbey of the Light, around which a village grew. The village took on the name Highcliffe Abbey in honour of the Monastery. Over the years the village became a town and after time a city, and with it the monastery grew in size, eventually becoming an abbey. The abbey grew rich and powerful, and with it came enemies. They insulted the Order of Saint Corisia, calling her no more than a mere woman, something the Order did not take lightly. In 202AU, they raided the city, sacking and burning the abbey to the ground. After the fires died down, the abbey was left in ruins as a reminder of their greed and hunger for power, while the followers moved on to smaller sites in the city, which became known as just Highcliffe. For years the site was left in ruin, until 288AU when a group of wealthy individuals acquired permission to build a museum and university over the ruins. The original founders included the monarch at the time, King Thomas I. A contest was held to design the buildings, with architect William Cleymart’s designs chosen. Unfortunately William died in an accident a few weeks later, so renowned architect Arthur Bronson picked up the project, overhauling the designs to add in his own style. Arthur contracted a disease a few months into the build and also died, leading to the project being given to Lord Lucien Daucourt, an architect and one of financiers of the project. Adding to the designs, he further edited upon Cleymart’s original and Bronson’s later changes. Lord Daucourt achieved what his predecessors had failed to do, see the project through to the end, receiving honours from the King during the opening ceremony. The Museum was an instant success among the people, and the university attracted the best and the brightest. To accommodate the increased popularity, the Daucourt building, named in honour of Lord Daucourt (who had passed a few months prior to the commission of the building), was constructed to house students, staff and workers. The five story building housed the servants and workers in the basement, the students on the first three floors and the museum/university staff on the top two floors. The Cleymart halls were a series of expansions to the museum to increase the amount of exhibitions available to be displayed, as well as basement storage space. The Great Library was built after the university library began to burst at the seams. This 5-story circular, mammoth of a building was designed with future in mind, having room for new additions for hundreds of years. The Museum records and archives were also moved into its basement levels. With the invention of airships, an airship dock was built on the edge of the cliff, which has since been significantly expanded. This has become the primary way to move supplies and launch expeditions. Leadership The Museum, University and Explorers Society is led a council, headed by the High Curator. The council includes the Curators of each department, the Dean of the University, Guildmaster, treasurer and esteemed guests. Museum Organisation The Museum is split into several departments, which look after their assigned exhibitions. Overlaps between departments are common, and usually result in cooperation. The departments are as follows: Natural History The largest department. This department include all things natural, whether animal, plant or geological. Civilisation If it has formed a civilisation, this is the department for it. The civilisation department displays exhibitions on every civilisation they can, usually in the form of cultural items Art Handles all art related matter within the Museum. Often works closely with the Civilisation department. Science and Technology Exhibits the wonders of science and technology, both old and new! The Great Library Holds the books, records, vaults and archives. The Great Library also holds records for the government. Explorers Society Founded in 307AU by Lord Henry Alti, the Explorers society is a guild dedicated to exploring the world and unearthing lost treasures. It is effectively the field division of the Museum, organising expeditions and bring home the treasures they find to be displayed. The Explorers Society has guild halls in any nation that will accept them, promoting historical preservation, cooperation and exploration. Welcoming all races within its ranks, it has become a very diverse organisation, with members across the world. The Explorers Society also works with foreign governments to preserve their national treasures, whether in local museums or the Museum in Corisia.